There is a major problem with roofs. When it rains the water from a large area runs off the side of the roof. This causes the soil next to the home to erode and leads to moisture and water in the basement. To eliminate this problem gutters were invented. The gutter takes the water away from the roof and places it down the drain into a sewage system. This however creates another problem. Not only does the rainwater get in the gutters but also all kinds of debris and leaves. The debris and leave collects at a rate sufficient to clog the gutter and necessitates the cleaning of the gutter. The cleaning of the gutter is a time consuming and arduous job. It also involves climbing a ladder and is many times dangerous.
Numerous systems have been designed to solve this problem. These systems usually consist of a screen, a porous foam or a plate with openings placed over the gutter. The inventor began exploring these systems. The inventor found that most of the systems are very expensive and that there are problems with maintenance such as wasp forming nest in the gutter. The systems designed for the homeowner to instill are very complicated to install. Many of the system must be screwed in place and thus take a large amount of labor to place within the gutters. Others have complicated interlocking systems to lock up on the gutter. They all take numerous hours of work attaching them to the gutter. Most of these systems are expensive to make, difficult to place on the gutters, and difficult to maintain.
One system shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,956,904 to Gentry shows a system that uses two layers of metal screens to cover the gutter. The support screen is a large mesh expanded metal screen. Large mesh screen is sturdy enough to retain its shape and withstand ordinary loads resulting from wind, rain, snow, and ice, or accumulated debris. The filtering screen is a small mesh fabric screen and has openings which are small enough to block debris, such as pine needles. The support screen must be able to retains its shape and sturdy enough to resist loads resulting from wind, rain, snow, and ice. One screen must be fold over the other screen at the edges. This makes for a high manufacturing cost. In addition, since the screens are metal they cannot be easily cut to fit different sizes of gutters.
One day when the inventor was fixing his roof, he noticed the material used for the roof vent. This material keeps the leaves out and allows air and water to flow through it. It is designed to withstand all types of weather. The inventor went to the hardware store and purchased some of the material. This material is a nonwoven fiber material that is very porous however is also smooth on its surface. The nonwoven fiber material allows water to flow through with little impedance; however, its openings are far too small for a leaves and debris to be caught. The surface is somewhat smooth to larger objects and thus leaves and debris easily flow over its surface. He found that he could cut the material with just a utility knife. The material is easy to install. To install one cuts the material to the proper length and width, and places the material within the gutter. The material is elastically deformed by the installer applying hand pressure to the material and compressing the edges of the material towards one another. The installer than places the material within the gutter and allows it to decompress against the gutter between the fascia board and the lip of the gutter. The material forms a convex surface over the top of the gutter. The installer can install the material in gutter of a whole home in a short time with only one tool, a utility knife to cut the material.
The inventor further tests the new material by placing the material in his gutters. The material stayed in place even in high wind and heavy downpours. The material when left in place during the heavy snows and ice of winter, will still returned to its original shape in spring.
Thus, the objective of this invention is to create a system that effectively keeps debris and leaves out of the average home gutter but is also inexpensive to make, easy to install and even easier to maintain.
To achieve these goals applicant has found a material that not only allows water and rain to flow easily through but also causes leaves and debris to easily wash over. This is an important advantage over other systems that have openings to allow the water flow through. Leaves and other debris get stuck in the openings and these systems must be cleaned. The openings in applicant's nonwoven fiber material are so small that very little debris or leaves are caught. However, they are of sufficient size to allow the water to easily flow.
As stated above, the surface of the fibers is also somewhat smooth which enhances the ability of the debris and the leaves to wash over the nonwoven fiber material. Finally, if over the years there is some buildup of leaves or debris within the nonwoven fiber material, the nonwoven fiber material is easily removed from the gutter, cleaned with the hose, and replaced with a little or no labor.
Another important feature of the material is that the material has sufficient stiffness that when it is deflected it will return to its original shape. The material can be easily placed within the gutter. The material is slightly deflected and placed between the fascia board and the lip of the gutter. The tension caused by the deflection will hold the material in place at the top of the gutter. The material has sufficient resistance to deflection to hold it in place even under high winds and heavy downpours. The material is easy to cut and thus easy to manufacture in the proper width. The material is easy to manufacture and inexpensive.
Applicant system takes no tools and only requires the slight deflection to be placed upon the gutter.